Cellphone footage from Texas shows the moment an irate man threatened a group of protesters with a chainsaw, the Daily Mail reports.
The disturbing incident took place in the border town of McAllen, and shows a man exiting his blue pickup truck, grabbing a chainsaw, and approaching a crowd of protesters as he revs the power tool.
The video can be seen below (Warning - this video contains upsetting footage and language):The man then begins shouting as the protesters, telling them to "go home" and "move", as he repeatedly revs the chainsaw.
He then says the 'n-word' and urges them to not be fooled, saying: "Don’t let those f****** n****** out there fool you. Don't let those f******trash antifa bulls*** people fool you."
He continued: "Don't let these f****** a******* lie to you! Don't let them lie to you!"
A woman can then be heard shouting for somebody to call 911.
Per KRGV.com, the man was later arrested.
Witness Lorena Houghton, a McAllen resident, recalled the incident to The Monitor, saying:
"We were just walking, because we were walking over here by ourselves, it was a group of like six or seven, and we were just trying to cross the street and someone stopped in the middle of the crosswalk and started yelling at the girl in front."
She added: "It's very scary. I think that the exact point they were trying to make is that they didn’t think that Black Lives Matter was necessary here, but I think he disproved his own point by violently attacking people that were walking on the street."
Another video shared to Twitter shows the man yelling at the protesters prior to grabbing the chainsaw. He can be heard telling them: "That bull**** with some f****** n***** and a bad cop do not belong here".
The man then frantically rips the signs from the protesters as they attempt to continue their march.
That video can be seen below:McAllen Police Chief Victor Rodriguez later revealed that the man had been detained, saying: "Thus far it’s been the only incident we’ve had at today’s event.
"We’ve identified that person, we’ve detained that person and are continuing our investigation into the particular incident."
The Mail reports that an assault investigation has been launched into the incident, and that the department is currently determining what charges will be filed against the man.
Unrest continues to unfold across the US, as protests - some peaceful, some violent - are calling out the systemic injustices carried out against black people, not least seen by the recent deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor.
As well as a call for justice, these ongoing protests are also demanding an end to police brutality and the racism that is so deeply entrenched in America and the western world.
The message is simple: Black lives matter.
VT proudly supports Black Lives Matter, and for ways to contribute to the cause, please click HERE.